Punjab police track cash trail of flat bought by man arrested for Quran desecration

During his interrogation on the alleged desecration on June 24, Kumar had allegedly named AAP MLA Naresh Yadav as the “mastermind” who promised him Rs 1 crore for the alleged desecration.

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Records show that Kumar cleared the payment of Rs 35 lakh for the flat in about a month’s time after purchasing it from local residents, Ashwani Sharma, a teacher, and his wife Sunita Sharma.

Records also show that the Omaxe Silver Birch flat is among a number of addresses listed in the name of Kumar. The others include properties on Bhiwani road in Jind, in Palam Colony near DDA Park, Palam, and Safdarjang Enclave Extension, New Delhi.

When contacted, Jaskiranjit Singh Teja, Superintendent of Police, Sangrur, said, “During questioning, Vijay said that he had sold a flat in Mumbai for Rs 1.70 crore four-five months ago and purchased the New Chandigarh flat from that money.”

Teja said that Vijay had so far not engaged any counsel to plead his case. “We informed him that he can opt for a counsel from legal aid, but he said he does not want a lawyer,” said Teja.

When contacted, Sharma, the original owner of the New Chandigarh flat, said he was introduced to Kumar by a property dealer Puneet Vaid. “The payments were made through RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement),” said Sharma. RTGS refers to large-scale transfer of funds in which the beneficiary bank credits the beneficiary’s account within 30 minutes of receiving the funds transfer message.

Vaid, who runs Future Estates, said he was approached by Vijay on Internet. “He [Vijay] was shown a few properties and finalised this one,” he said.

Police have claimed that Kumar was driving a Mahindra Thar on June 24 while an associate allegedly threw torn pages of the Quran in Malerkotla, nearly 110 km from Chandigarh.

Security guards at the Omaxe complex said Kumar used to drive a vehicle of the same make while entering the complex. Records maintained at the complex show that on June 25, a day after the alleged desecration, Kumar had checked into the Omaxe complex club at 6.14 pm to use the swimming pool and checked out at 7.20 pm.

DSP Randhir Singh, who heads the team investigating the desecration case, said, “Police got vital leads after the vehicle was identified from its registration number. The other two arrested include Vijay’s another friend Gaurav and Gaurav’s father Nand Kishore, residents of Taragarh in Pathankot district”. Sangrur SP Teja said, “Vijay Kumar and Nand Kishore knew each other for more than a decade. Vijay also faced a case under Essential Commodities Act but was acquitted.”

According to police, Kumar was associated with RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal. In 2010, they said, Kumar was detained in the US for carrying brass knuckles and “jihadi literature” after arriving in Houston to participate in a conference organised by a Hindu organisation to which he was invited. Kumar pleaded guilty and was deported, said police.

Punjab police say they have “enough evidence” against Naresh Yadav, including the confessional statement of Kumar, and records of at least eight calls and text messages exchanged between the AAP MLA and Kumar from June 19-23.

Police have already questioned Yadav in Patiala for 5 hours and subsequently in Sangrur for 9 hours and have said that Yadav may be subjected to custodial interrogation as police were not satisfied with his responses. Yadav has denied all the allegations against him but admitted that he has met Kumar in Delhi, said sources.

Malerkotla had witnessed communal tension and protests in 2013, when a 12 year-old boy was burned alive in Bhardwaj colony, and 2014, when the carcass of a cow was found in town.